A Very (Very) Special Evening with The National

The National’s music perfectly encapsulates all the joys and sorrows of being human. Hearing them play live is a profound experience. 

Matt belting out “it takes an ocean not to break” at the end of Terrible Love, Scott’s bass powering Mr. November, the Dessners’ crescendo of guitars at the end of Fake Empire, the emotional wallop from Bryan’s drums during Bloodbuzz Ohio, Ben & Kyle’s horns kicking England into another gear. 

The best cinematic use of music (in my opinion) is during the ending of Warrior. The memory of sitting in the backseat during a family road trip, going into senior year of high school, and crying while hearing About Today is imprinted onto my brain.

Thousands of hours of listening later, I make it to my first concerts during their 2022 tour at Cooperstown, Boston, Port Chester, and Harrisburg, each time arriving earlier to doors opening. By Harrisburg I showed up six hours prior to doors only to still be third in line! Midway through the show I found myself face-to-face with Matt Berninger, simultaneously screaming into each other’s faces. How could that be topped?

On Monday February 27th an email hit my inbox with the subject line “A Special Evening with The National.” A millisecond later I read: “We are pleased to announce a special, one-off live performance event this Saturday, March 4th at the Bearsville Theatre in Woodstock, NY.”

My heart was racing: would I even get a ticket? Am I dreaming? 

24 hours later I finally breathed a sigh of relief after getting a ticket to my now 17th planned The National show of 2023. 

With a ticket secured, my focus shifted to something new I planned on doing for the upcoming. Something I carried over from the world of pro wrestling… making a sign! The only decision was what to make.

What would be the perfect way to support their new music? Among the songs I’ve heard from their upcoming album, New Order T-Shirt always leaves me sobbing. Creativity isn’t my strength, so I settled on adding a twist to the band’s own shirt as a design.

Cutting up an Amazon box and painting this sign the night before the show. The following morning I was on the road to Woodstock by 11am, driving past streets covered in snow. 

I panicked after pulling into the parking lot at noon and saw several cars already there. Luckily it was mostly for staff, crew, and people looking for a farmers market. I made my way to the theater entrance, joined everyone already camped out, and secured my spot as eleventh in line.

We had a great time hanging outside in the cold when, after a few hours, the venue’s head of security joined us and enjoyed hearing about our fandom. He even went above and beyond letting us wait inside for a while before the front-of-house had to be set up.

Next thing I know it’s 2:30pm, the twelve of us were waiting just inside the glass door, and I glance up at the door only to see Bryce standing right there ten feet on the other side. I blink and he’s soon joined by every other member of the band. The backstage entrance was that close to where we were. 

One by one we poked our heads outside to wave hello, not sure how much excitement was appropriate to show hours before the show started. 

That last hour or so before doors opened was the longest hour of the day. We were able to hear most of sound check from outside and the anticipation was killing me. Since it was so cold the idea was to let everyone in a little early, but this concert was being filmed and the crew hadn’t finished setting up all the cameras yet. The compromise was to let those of us who had camped out all day in a few minutes early to secure our spots by the stage.

We got to spend those last hours before the show started chatting with everyone who works to make each concert an incredibly special event: Erik Flannigan, Shaun Gibson, Graham MacIndoe, Tom Berninger, and so many more wonderful people.

At 8pm The National walked out to a crowd of 400 rabid fans who knew, even before it was spoken, that they would be playing all* of their upcoming album Two Pages of Frankenstein before its April 28th release. 

The crowd instantly connected with every song despite several never having been played live before. I’m counting down the days until I can hear these songs again. 

After finishing the new album they rolled right into a dozen hits that everyone thoroughly enjoyed singing along to. The concert went by in the blink of an eye. I was in such an emotional state after we all sang Vanderlye Crybaby Geeks that I nearly forgot what I had been planning all day! When The National began to leave the stage I lucked into getting Bryce’s attention. Next thing I know he walked over, grabbed my sharpie, and signed my New Order T-Shirt sign! Everything that day went beyond perfectly.

After everyone left the stage I’m still standing there, in awe of the show, and further luck my way into getting handed a setlist. What else could go right?!

After a while the crowd dissipated, and those of us who started the day together were ending the day together. We debated grabbing food while wondering if we’d be able to get into the VIP party at the bar next door (If anyone knows how to get access to those, please reach out!!). We waited and waited. After another twenty minutes there was nobody left besides me and the the first friend I’ve met through The National, Jean-Michel. We reminisced one last time on the day, got ready to walk to our cars, and headed out of the building towards the parking lot. 

As soon as we take a left down the road I see the same style car that had dropped off the band earlier that day about fifty feet away. I kept walking into the middle of the road to get a better view. Is that… is that…. Matt’s face poking out from just around the car?! It is! And he’s signing an autograph for another fan!

Instincts take over. I took off running, yelling “Matt can you sign my sign?!?!” trying to catch him before he got in the car and drove away. As if we were in a movie, Matt not only stopped to sign my sign, but he even took my setlist and signed that too. I was in such disbelief I can’t remember a single thing I said. All that remains is the surreal feeling of being face-to-face with someone who has helped shape my outlook on life, who I’d pretend to be while dancing around in my room, who now provided me with two unforgettable moments.

Mere seconds after this interaction, Jean-Michel goes “I got pictures of that whole thing.” Complete shock is an understatement. 

We immediately asked the fan waiting this whole time who he had yet to see, and he mentioned Bryan, Scott, and Bryce, so we instantly decided to camp out with him.

Over the next hour, one by one we see Bryce, Bryan, Kyle, Ben, Scott, and Aaron, with everyone being incredibly kind, stopping to say hello, and signing my sign! 

I drove back home in awe of the day, eagerly awaiting the tour to begin so I can be reunited with The National and my fellow Cherry Tree members.